


On the Playground, or a Study in Sherlock

by davidaLoca



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: BAMF Molly Hooper, Elementary School, F/M, Teacher! Molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28778889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davidaLoca/pseuds/davidaLoca
Summary: Sherlock wants to pick up Rosie from school more. Is Miss Hooper, science teacher, the reason?Sugar and spice and all things nice included.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	On the Playground, or a Study in Sherlock

Of course, no one could deny that John Watson was attractive. His army posture, slight grumpiness combined with kind words were lovely. But next to THE Sherlock Holmes? He didn’t stand a chance, according to the parents of Wetherby prep school.

Mums huddled in corners of the playground, hoping for the afternoons that a sweeping Black Belstaff would stride in through the gates, waiting to pick up Rosie.

Part of the allure was that no one could engage him in conversation. He stood aloof, texting until Rosie would run and hug his leg, and they would walk hand in hand home. A collective sigh would occur whenever that happened.

Not that anyone had caught onto it, but the only time Sherlock did look up was when the science teacher Miss Hooper led some of the children out. To Sherlock, she had a ‘swishy’ ponytail with bright eyes and a smile.

She nodded politely when she walked past him. Molly didn’t look at him like she wanted to devour him like the other mothers, but her small blush promised an opportunity. That was what made him curious.   
John didn’t understand the increase in Sherlock wanting to pick Rosie up, but after rushing from a case to parents’ evening, he caught on. Sure, the conversation with Miss Hooper about Rosie’s performance in science was perfectly normal. Rosie was excelling. What made it awkward is that Sherlock stared at the teacher the whole time, not saying a word. 

Once the event was over, Sherlock stated that he had to visit Mycroft, so walked in a different direction to John. But when the doctor turned around, he saw Sherlock walk back into the school. Maybe he had forgotten his scarf? John shook his head. He would find out later for sure.

‘You are wasting yourself Miss Hooper’.

Molly turned away from the sink to glance at the intruder, then went back to washing the beakers from the day.

‘How so Mr Holmes?’

‘You have a better knowledge than most teachers, most pathologists I’ve met. Yet you are wasting it on children’. He walked around the classroom, stopping near a clay volcano. 

‘No offence, but I would consider that a dumb opinion’.

He whipped his head around sharply.

‘Teaching is incredibly important. We all started somewhere right? Even you’ she giggled, moving around him to put stuff on the drying rack.

‘Mr Holmes,-

‘Sherlock.’

‘Sherlock, why are you here? Did you need to ask something?’

‘Rosie is failing science. I asked her what calcium hydroxide was made up of and she couldn’t tell me.’

‘She’s six, Sherlock’.

A brief silence passed.

‘Look Sherlock, you aren’t meant to be on the premises after the event’

‘Come for dinner with me’. They looked at each other for a moment too long.

‘I can’t do that Mr Holmes’.  
‘You can. You know I’m not Rosie’s actual father, right?’

‘I know but boundaries are important to me. Look, I get it must be hard for you. There are a few single mothers in Rosie’s year, maybe if you’

‘Do not waste my time Miss Hooper, they do not have your intelligence’.

‘They do, if you talked to them. There are doctors, lawyers’

‘Not as interesting’ he scowled.

She turned around and faced him. Sherlock gulped.

‘I know why you are pursuing me.

‘Ah good. We can get going then’.

She walked towards him. ‘I’m not chasing you. The exact same reason those mums and dads love you. Obviously, the dark curly hair and the fancy coat help. They want you to notice them’.

He took a closer step forward. ‘Are you attracted to me?’ He asked quietly.

Molly tried to lie, but she couldn’t. ‘Yes’.

‘Come for dinner with me’.

She sighed, turned around and started to pace.

‘You love mystery’.

‘That’s obvious’ Sherlock huffed.

‘But I can assure you there’s no mystery here. Do you want me to be drooling over you? Or would that make you go away?’ She laughed.

Sherlock himself was beginning to get confused. He almost stomped his foot and walked away.

‘Fine. Let your romance novels satisfy you, they are clearly what’s keeping you up at night with those eye bags’.

‘Thank you Gok Wan!’ She shouted as he stormed out.

When John next walked into the living room, he saw Sherlock slumped and frowning.

‘Have you tried asking her out?’

John got a shoe to the chest.

Sherlock checked his phone.

Mycroft: we’ve done a background check on her, there’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Sherlock: Look again.

The next time Sherlock marched into her science classroom, he had put Rosie in the classroom with a pair of earphones.

‘What’s your intention Molly Hooper?’ he attacked.

‘Hmm?’ She raised her eyebrows, trying not to grin as she took some displays off the wall.

‘Come on, spit it out. What’s your aim, with your actions’.

‘I’m trying to get the classroom ready for tomorrow.’

‘No. Tell me, are you trying to seduce me at all?’

Now Molly couldn’t stop her smile as she walked to her desk. ‘No not intentional. Not an area of expertise I’m afraid’.

Sherlock crossed his arms. ‘Because if you are trying to send me away, your actions are doing otherwise’.

This stopped Molly in her tracks. ‘How so?’

‘Previously, you deduced me. I’ve heard that the need to be known, understood and accepted is very similar to love’.

‘That would be ironic if that was the case’.

‘How so?’ Sherlock stepped forward.

Molly looked up. ‘Because you enjoy deducing people. Does that mean you know them? Are you loving them then?’

‘What a ridiculous notion. I observe facts quickly based on physical appearance and use them to do important things’.

‘So the flowers you tried to send me through Rosie. They are my favourite. Seems like a deduction but was that ‘useful’ information?’

Molly thought she saw Sherlock blush slightly.

‘Sherlock. All of the things you have tried to get Rosie to give to me, have been kind. Although the dead hand did make one of the children throw up’. 

He rolled his eyes. 

‘I had heard, from John that you had thought love was a waste of time. Remembering or ‘deducing’ what I may like, is that not ‘a waste’ of your deductions?

Sherlock wished that his eyes could communicate what he desperately wanted. Why was this so hard?

‘I’ve recently realised that the mind palace-‘

‘Mind palace?’

He coughed. ‘the mind’ can be limitless in what it can remember’. For me at least.

She smirked slightly.

‘Well. I guess there is no harm in friendship. But don’t tell the other parents, I think some of them are really gunning for you’.

Sherlock rolled his eyes again whilst she let out a full-blown laugh.

\---

Of course Sherlock volunteered to chaperone the trip to London Zoo. After asking John what made this acceptable, he replied that Sherlock’s brother Mycroft was ‘pretty high up’ and knew many of the school’s trustees.

Molly tried not to fall for him as he pointed at the snakes and told lots of facts to the students. Even the picnic he had was cute and orderly.

‘You didn’t make that yourself, did you?’ They sat on a bench, a bit too close together, watching the kids in the playground/

‘I have a kind landlady who worries too much about me. Want a biscuit?’

To be fair, it was delicious.

When a man sidled up to Molly and said lasciviously ‘Blimey, you get around- these all yours?’, Sherlock and Molly took no qualms in laughing loudly together when some monkey poo managed to hit him in the face.

After the trip, Sherlock had more cases taking up his time, but he would still pop into Molly’s classroom for any excuse.

‘Rosie is struggling with her homework’.

‘No, she isn’t. You know that’

They both gave a knowing smile to each other.

\---   
Molly was trying not to let tears fall down her shirt one afternoon. He stalked over to her in concern.

‘What happened Molly?’

She looked up at him, shaking her head. ‘It’s nothing’.

‘Molly’. He held her shoulders gently. ‘You look like you need a cup of tea. Baker Street is not far. You’ve tried Mrs Hudson’s biscuits’. He gave her a corner of a smile as he tilted his head persuasively. She smiled, being led by him out of the school

As tea was prepared and Mrs Hudson fussed over Molly, all was shared.

‘So what’s the issue’. He looked at her intently.

‘Well’, she sniffed. It’s just a parent of child who was being mean. I called the child out for it and now he’s threatening me’.

Molly had a handwritten letter on her desk and a box of flowers the next day.

This couldn’t be Sherlock could it? No. It was an apology from the awful parent. The letter was slightly bloodstained, and she panicked slightly.

Wow. He really did move fast. She shuddered at what else could have been done to that parent.

Walking home through the park, she wasn’t surprised when she ran into the detective, walking with Rosie.

‘Sherlock’.

‘Molly. A pleasure it is to see you, we’re going for a walk, want to join us?’ He turned her around to walk with them.

‘What was that for? I know this was you! He wouldn’t apologise by himself. You didn’t need to go full ham on him’.

‘No idea what you are talking about Molly. ‘Biscuit?’

They were amazing after all.

Although their initial interactions were tense in John’s eyes, the next few moments he saw were calmer and quieter.

Molly and Sherlock developed a friendship, and later a relationship slowly. A lot of teasing was given to Sherlock. He didn’t seem to mind it when it came to her.

It was a lot of silent lunches. Looking over shoulders on different experiments. Doing a puzzle or reading on the sofa. Picking from each other’s lunches.

John even saw Sherlock enter Baker Street in a fluffy jumper once with a bag of donuts, which truly baffled him. The smirk from Molly and the way he dragged her to the bedroom explained everything clearly.

\----

It was not seduction. Nor mystery. Just an understanding of each other and support.

That was what love was supposed to be, right?

They barely knew, but they loved what they had, so it was alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Love writing so far!


End file.
